The month leading up to the trip I started running again, mostly at the gym because we had a cold and wet spring. My training was put on hold a couple of weeks because I got a bad cold and I couldn't shake it. Jared came into town prior to the race so we decided to run together one morning, boy was that a mistake. I was a total disgrace! Running outside is very different from running inside and I couldn't breather, let alone my nose kept running. All and all I made Jared walk with me most of the way. After than morning I was very discouraged about racing and almost backed out. Over the next weekend my family talked me into running the stake 5K as a practice. They were all surprised when I actually showed up. Running this time wasn't as bad, I ran it in 37 minutes and this kept me positive for the next week. I ran a few more times before the race; however I had never ran more than 3 miles. I knew if I had to I could walk part of the race and it would be OK - my goal was just to finish.
Our weekend began by leaving Thursday afternoon, it was a very long drive to Denver, especially caravaning with the whole family. At one point on the drive Dan's GPS system took us in the wrong direction and we had to try and find turn back around. Dan started having a meltdown trying to figure a way back when, Reagan started crying that she had to go to the bathroom. (She was in a pull up for the drive but refused to pee in her pants while we were in the car. It is amazing that she can go such a long distance and not pee in her pants, however when she is playing at the house it happens.) She started crying so hard that her nose started to bleed as well. We finally pulled into a Walmart parking lot around 10:30 and I took her into the restroom to go potty and clean her bloody face and clothes up. I thought she would go to sleep at this point, but about 20 minutes later she had to go to the bathroom again. (I love road trips!) Luckily we were not too far away from one. After she relieved herself at 11:30 PM, she fell right asleep. We arrived in Denver around 1:30 in the morning, checked into our hotel and collapsed.
The following day we all went to lunch together (because it was nearly lunchtime by the time we got up and ready) We met at Old Chicago pizza, there were so many of us we were at three separate tables. My cousin Tammy and her family met us there as well. After lunch we all got ready to go to the Rockies baseball game. The weather got a little cold so we were all huddled together in our jackets and blankets. The best thing I had a t the game was a cup of hot chocolate, just holding the cup made me all warm inside. At the end of the game it started warming up again, The Rockies played well and beat the Dodgers. We had a great time, it was really fun to take Jaxson and have him watch some incredible players and see how fast they react to everything.
The following day we went to visit my good friends Cory and Courtney Fabrizio. They invited us over for dinner and then we spent the afternoon playing at the park. Cory, Courtney, Melissa and I all went to school together. I few years after school the Fabrizio's moved to Florida so Cory could attend Dental school, about nine months ago, Cory graduated and moved to Denver to start practicing. They only live about 20 minutes away from Jared in Highlands Ranch. The kids had a ball spending the day together. Madison and Chiara have been friends since they were babies and re-connected very quickly. Bryson and Jaxson got along great as well, they are both boys and love sports. The kids introduced them to kick ball and they played with the dads. Breya and Reagan were very cute together and Courtney's little Trevin is adorable. While at the park a bird landed on the cake Courtney made and walked across it. When we were cleaning up we were surprised to see bird tracks all over the cake, very funny indeed.
The next day we all arose at the crack of dawn to head down to Boulder for the race. The Boulder Boulder is the 2nd largest 10k in the nation - I had no idea what 50,000 people running a race would be like until we got there. Not only were there thousands of people running, there were hundreds of people dressed up in costume running the race; quite the party! Our start time was 9:03 AM, we all run at different paces so off everyone went. Jared and I ran together for the first mile or two, they we broke off from each other. I was glad I had my ipod and running track to listen to. I love I Got A Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas, it is my favorite running song and gets me in a great mood. Along the trail there were bubbles, cupcakes, marshmallows, Gatorade and water being handed out to all the runners. The hardest part about the race was there were so many people that you had to move around them. Sometimes I would have to slow down because of the enormous amount of people on the street, this made it hard to start back up again. I am happy to say I never stopped, I did walk a brisk walk half of the time which was just as fast as some joggers. (For those of you that know me, I don't walk slow, I am a speed walked all the time.) I finished the race a 1 hour and 19 minutes, just 3 minutes behind Jared and Melissa. Scott and Ali are speed demons, so I can't compare myself to them. I was proud of my time and that I actually did it. I do have to see that it didn't make me want to run another race though. I was pretty tired! The worst part of the race was after it was completed, the race ended in the university stadium and to get out of the stadium you had to climb over the bleachers/stairs to get out. I thought I was going to die because I was exhausted!
As we were all walking back to the car (another mile) Jaxson was so excited about the race and asked if he could run it next year. Apparently this is going to be a new family tradition! Could be fun, we will have to wait and see...
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